American Mathematical Society Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
American Mathematical Society


Formation	1888; 137 years ago (1888)
Legal status	501(c)(3) non-profit
Headquarters	Providence, Rhode Island
Membership	30,000
President	Ruth Charney
Executive director	Catherine A. Roberts
Revenue (2018)	$35,945,937

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is a group of professional mathematicians. It helps advance math research and learning. The AMS supports the math community around the world. It does this through its publications, meetings, and other programs.

The society is one of four groups in the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. It is also a member of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.

History of the AMS
AMS Meetings
AMS Fellows
Math Prizes
Outreach Programs
Typesetting Math
AMS Presidents
Executive Directors
See also

History of the AMS

The AMS started in 1888. It was first called the New York Mathematical Society. Thomas Fiske got the idea after visiting the London Mathematical Society in England. John Howard Van Amringe was the first president. Fiske became the secretary.

The society soon decided to publish a journal. This journal was called the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. Fiske was its first editor. The Bulletin helped the society grow. Later, the AMS launched other journals. These included the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society and Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society.

In 1891, Charlotte Scott from Britain joined the society. She was the first woman to become a member. In 1894, the society changed its name to the American Mathematical Society. It became a national group. That same year, Charlotte Scott became the first woman on the society's Council. In 1927, Anna Pell-Wheeler was the first woman to give a lecture at the society's Colloquium.

In 1951, a math meeting was held in Nashville. Four Black mathematicians tried to attend a banquet there. They were Lee Lorch, Evelyn Boyd, Walter Brown, and H. M. Holloway. The banquet organizer refused to let them in. Lorch and his friends wrote to the AMS and the MAA. They asked for rules against unfair treatment. The rules were not changed, but new policies were made. Since then, these groups have always followed fair policies.

Also in 1951, the AMS moved its main office. It moved from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island. Later, the society opened more offices. One was in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1965. Another was in Washington, D.C. in 1992.

In the 1970s, the AMS started to become more open. Before, it was mostly run by a small group of men. Mary W. Gray helped change this. She insisted that Council meetings should be open to everyone. This helped the society become more fair. In 1971, the AMS created a committee. This committee focused on women in math.

Julia Robinson was the first female president of the AMS. She served from 1983 to 1984. In 1988, the Journal of the American Mathematical Society was created. It became the main journal for the AMS.

AMS Meetings

The AMS holds the world's largest math research meeting. It is called the Joint Mathematics Meeting. This event happens every January. Many other organizations also take part. In 2019, about 6,000 people attended the meeting in Baltimore.

The AMS has four regional sections. These are Central, Eastern, Southeastern, and Western. Each section holds meetings twice a year. The society also works with other international math groups. They hold meetings together.

AMS Fellows

Each year, the AMS chooses a group of Fellows. These are people who have made great contributions to math.

Math Prizes

The AMS gives out several prizes. Some of these awards are given with other math groups. These prizes honor important achievements in mathematics.

Bôcher Memorial Prize
Cole Prize
David P. Robbins Prize
Fulkerson Prize
Leroy P. Steele Prizes
Morgan Prize
Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics
Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry

Outreach Programs

The AMS creates materials for students. These are for middle school, high school, and college students. They help young people learn about math.

Posters about mathematicians and math topics.
Mathematical Moments: These are posters and interviews. They show how math is used in science and society.
Math in the Media: This is a monthly summary of news articles that mention math. It also includes activities for classrooms.

Typesetting Math

The AMS was one of the first groups to use TeX. This is a computer program for writing math. The AMS made its own versions called AMS-TeX and AMS-LaTeX. Now, TeX and LaTeX are used everywhere in math publishing.

AMS Presidents

The AMS is led by a President. The President is chosen for a two-year term. They cannot serve two terms in a row.

Presidents: 1888–1900

John Howard Van Amringe (New York Mathematical Society) (1888–1890)
Emory McClintock (New York Mathematical Society) (1891–94)
George Hill (1895–96)
Simon Newcomb (1897–98)
Robert Woodward (1899–1900)

Presidents: 1901–1950

Eliakim Moore (1901–02)
Thomas Fiske (1903–04)
William Osgood (1905–06)
Henry White (1907–08)
Maxime Bôcher (1909–10)
Henry Fine (1911–12)
Edward Van Vleck (1913–14)
Ernest Brown (1915–16)
Leonard Dickson (1917–18)
Frank Morley (1919–20)
Gilbert Bliss (1921–22)
Oswald Veblen (1923–24)
George Birkhoff (1925–26)
Virgil Snyder (1927–28)
Earle Raymond Hedrick (1929–30)
Luther Eisenhart (1931–32)
Arthur Byron Coble (1933–34)
Solomon Lefschetz (1935–36)
Robert Moore (1937–38)
Griffith C. Evans (1939–40)
Marston Morse (1941–42)
Marshall Stone (1943–44)
Theophil Hildebrandt (1945–46)
Einar Hille (1947–48)
Joseph L. Walsh (1949–50)

Presidents: 1951–2000

John von Neumann (1951–52)
Gordon Whyburn (1953–54)
Raymond Wilder (1955–56)
Richard Brauer (1957–58)
Edward McShane (1959–60)
Deane Montgomery (1961–62)
Joseph Doob (1963–64)
Abraham Albert (1965–66)
Charles B. Morrey Jr. (1967–68)
Oscar Zariski (1969–70)
Nathan Jacobson (1971–72)
Saunders Mac Lane (1973–74)
Lipman Bers (1975–76)
R. H. Bing (1977–78)
Peter Lax (1979–80)
Andrew Gleason (1981–82)
Julia Robinson (1983–84)
Irving Kaplansky (1985–86)
George Mostow (1987–88)
William Browder (1989–90)
Michael Artin (1991–92)
Ronald Graham (1993–94)
Cathleen Morawetz (1995–96)
Arthur Jaffe (1997–98)
Felix Browder (1999–2000)

Presidents: 2001–present

Hyman Bass (2001–02)
David Eisenbud (2003–04)
James Arthur (2005–06)
James Glimm (2007–08)
George E. Andrews (2009–10)
Eric M. Friedlander (2011–12)
David Vogan (2013–14)
Robert L. Bryant (2015–16)
Ken Ribet (2017–18)
Jill Pipher (2019–20)
Ruth Charney (2021–22)
Bryna Kra (2023–24)

Executive Directors

The AMS has an Executive Director. This person leads the organization. They manage its daily work and help carry out its goals.

Holbrook MacNeille (1949–1954)
John Curtiss (1954–1959)
Gordon Walker (1959–1977)
William LeVeque (1977–1988)
William Jaco (1988–1995)
John H. Ewing (1995–2009)
Donald McClure (2009–2016)
Catherine Roberts (2016–2023)

American Mathematical Society facts for kids

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